Dangling Modifiers
The dangling modifier is one of the most insidious and
confusion-causing problems in the English language. Dangling
modifiers usually occur when a group of words (most often a verbal
phrase) is not clearly connected to the word it modifies. When the
modifier occurs at the beginning of the sentence, readers usually
expect it to modify the subject of the sentence. When it doesn’t
logically do that, the modifier is said to dangle. A dangling
modifier can change the intended meaning of the sentence
dramatically, which makes readers have to slow down in order to sort out the meaning. The dangling
modifier also sometimes creates strange images in readers’ minds.
For instance, in the sentence, “Stumbling down the road, the
car almost ran the man down,” the phrase stumbling down the
road appears to refer to the subject of the sentence, car. But as
good readers, we know that doesn’t make sense: it isn’t
logical. So we have to revise it mentally, which slows us down considerably.
And sometimes we just can’t figure out exactly what the writer
was trying to say.
Here’s another example:
Incorrect Ex: Having tested positive for marijuana, the police arrested
the suspect.
[The sentence reads as though the police tested positive for marijuana.]
Revised Ex: The police arrested the suspect who tested positive
for marijuana.
Revised Ex: Having tested positive for marijuana, the suspect was
arrested.
So how do you know if you’ve written a dangling modifier?
Well, first you have to ask yourself if the modifying phrase
suggests an action and, if it does,
where the actor (the person or thing performing the action) is. If
there is an actor, you have no problem. If there is no actor
in
the modifying phrase, can
the subject of the sentence be the actor of the modifying phrase as
well? If it is, you have no problem. If it is not, then
you have
a dangling modifier.
For instance, in the preceding sentence, an action is
suggested (testing positive for marijuana), but there
is no one within
the modifying phrase
who did the
action, so we look to the subject of the sentence to see if the
subject there (police)
could be the actor. But the police testing positive for marijuana
doesn’t
seem logical, so we know we have a dangling modifier, and we need
to fix the sentence.
Once you’ve determined that you have a dangling modifier, how
do you fix it?
Basically, there are two ways to do it:
Rewrite the modifying phrase so that its actor is contained
within it. In other words, you make the modifying phrase into
a subordinate clause.
Incorrect Ex: Having entered the theater, the music seemed
to overwhelm me.
[The sentence reads as though the music entered the theater.]
Revised Ex: As I entered the theater, the music overwhelmed
me.
Revised Ex: The music overwhelmed me as I entered the
theater. In both revised examples, the relationship between the
modifying clause and the noun it modifies has been made clear.
Or you
can rewrite the main clause so that its subject is also
the actor in the modifying phrase.
Incorrect Ex: Upon leaving the stadium, the lights began to flicker.
[The sentence reads as though the lights left the stadium.]
Revised Ex: Upon leaving the stadium, I noticed the lights
were beginning to flicker.
In this case the writer has fixed the dangling modifier by providing
the sentence with a subject that can act as the actor in the
modifier as well: I did both
things--left the stadium and noticed the lights.
You can test your understanding of this handout by completing Academic
Center exercises available
here.
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